#stretchblr

3/07/2019 2.09 miles/3.36 kilometers Lookie here, I found Mike! YTD: 179.05 miles *sigh* 1 day in a row

So, 2 mile run. 3 were on the schedule, but I just wasn’t feeling it. Mike happened to be there. He was obviously aware the picture was being taken, so I’m accepting that as a model release form. For the record, Mike is an Ironman.

After the kids went to bed, I lifted. 3x5 this time around. Increased squat and deadlift, kept bench press the same (since it still hurts unless I hold the bar JUST right, and even then there still parts of the movement that hurt).

Creed: Rise to Glory after that. Campaign mode. So while there were only 4 fights that I can recall, there were some intermediary ‘training’ sessions - dodge the rebound ball, pummel the B.O.B. or heavy bag, hit Rocky’s targets in a specific order, ‘run’ on the treadmill, etc. Thus the nice HIITish HR graph. Completely soaked my T-shirt by the end.

After THAT, sat in my compression boots while reading the next few chapters from a mindfulness book, then sat in my stretcher while hammering my quads, IT bands, and adductors with my Hypervolt.

4/19/2018 2.50 miles Run, stretch, wait, lift! YTD: 390.50 miles 109 days in a row

4/5/2018 1.00 mile Again, just a mile - but FAST YTD: 332 miles 95 days in a row

Another late start, another fast mile, another stretch in the hot tub.

And a little more lifting later on in the night.

1/26/2018 1.10 miles Lift, run, stretch, swim! YTD: 68.33 miles 26 days in a row

1/29/2018 1.50 miles A little speedy, not so bad. YTD: 81.89 miles 29 days in a row

Lift, run, stretch, swim. It’s almost routine. Almost.

Taekwondo was pretty neat. There were just 4 of us in class, and Master Chung worked us hard. He paired us up and had us pass the hand targets back and forth and just throw kick after kick after kick. And a few combos. Including a new one (to me) - front leg hook kick, same leg roundhouse. I had actually just run across a video recently of people doing 4 kick combos (including a hook followed by a roundhouse) without putting down their leg. So after the black belts did theirs (putting down their leg each time) - I tried keeping my leg up. Master Chung seemed ... happy? impressed? Whatever, he seemed enthusiastically pleased that I was A) trying it, and B) pulling off at least 70% of them. As I got winded I’d miss more, or lose my balance.

If you’re wondering what it looks like, it’s kind of like this:

He just does hook kicks, alternating legs for the first 31 seconds, and then starts throwing the combo. FYI I look nowhere near this smooth.

Good times.

I think I worked a few muscles that weren’t quite used to it, I was limping around the house afterwards. Tucked into a bowl of the stew that’d been cooking all day, and chilled out in my basement reading and taking notes* while wearing my Air Relax recovery boots.

* One of the many things I’m tracking is reading (for lack of a better phrase) “self-help” books. Parenting, mindfulness, kindness, nonviolent communication**. I’m striving to be a kinder, gentler Kent***. I do a lot to take care of the outside, I need to spend time taking care of the inside as well.

** Kindness in communication, not anti-physical violence :)

1/05/2018 1.12 treadmiles Short and sweet YTD: 11.22 miles 5 days in a row

First, a great way to start the day is made-to-order omelettes at work. They setup a little mini chef station every once in a while and have the chef come in and work his tail off for a couple hours feeding us.

6/05/2018 2.21 miles/3.56 kilometers What *didn’t* I do yesterday? YTD: 546.21 miles 156 days in a row

First things first. Little two mile jaunt at my new monthly minimum speed 6.6mph, with a tenth of a mile pickup at 7.1mph every quarter mile. Felt OK! I happened to get on a treadmill two over from a gym buddy of mine, Jerry (Ironman, Ultramarathoner, etc) who had a triple bypass in February (!!!). Jerry’s around my age, maybe a little older, so it was a kick in the guts to hear about it initially. He was pretty heads-down into his workout and didn’t even notice me.

Then I got into the hot tub for a much needed stretch - I’m pretty sore from lifting.

Later on after Taco Tuesday* and the kids went to bed, I got in my lifting immediately followed by the Fighter’s Codex day 2 workout. I elected to not hit the heavy bag for these since they were speed-focused. About halfway through the minute of punches it occurred to me that maybe I should be doing more taekwondo-style punches, so switched mid-stream =D.